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So you’re looking into playing piano as your first instrument. That’s great, playing piano or any instrument, in general, is a great and healthy way to kick back and relax after a hard day getting chewed out by your boss at work or getting bored at school
However, there’s one small problem: you just can’t seem to sing to save your life, somehow singing along to a song seems like an impossible task, and you’re wondering if that affects your ability in playing the piano.
You don’t need to be able to sing in order to play the piano. In fact, learning how to play the piano can actually help you to be able to sing better. This is because you will learn to tell apart different pitches when playing piano.
This article will go over the reasons why you can’t seem to be able to sing, along with convincing you why you don’t need to be a good singer to be a good pianist.
Reasons why you can’t sing
Are you tone deaf?
Tone deafness (also known as amusia) is a rare condition where 1 in 20 people won’t be able to sing the correct notes, despite hearing music perfectly fine. People with this condition can’t differentiate pitches, meaning they can’t sing along to even the simplest of tunes. For example, a tone-deaf individual can’t tell if a C and a G sound the same or not.
So is the reason why you can’t sing well due to being tone-deaf? Answers these questions: Can you tell if someone is singing well? Or can you tell the difference between an acoustic and electric guitar? If the answers to these questions are yes, then congratulation, your hearing is perfectly fine.
You can also take this tone-deaf test by Havard University to double-check and make sure you’re not tone-deaf
If you aren’t tone-deaf, then how come you’re so bad at singing?
Singing is a skill to learn
While other people can naturally sing along to any tunes or songs with no problems, for you, it’s simply just another skill to learn like cooking or dribbling a soccer ball. Learn how to sing correct notes using the free available resources out there on the internet like Youtube videos, and practice, practice, practice.
Practice makes perfect, and you’ll eventually be able to hold a tune properly.
You don’t need to be able to sing to play the piano
Playing piano, in essence, is about hitting the right keys at the right time to create sounds. It has nothing to do with knowing the differences in sound between a B♭ and a D, although it does help you to play piano better.
As long as you can read the notes on the music sheet and play accordingly with the right tempo, you’ll be fine even if you can’t sing well.
It’s similar to math where there are only right and wrong answers, for the piano, if you hit the notes correctly, the sound created by the piano will never betray you.
Playing piano can actually help you to be able to sing
On the contrary, learning how to play the piano will help you sing better. This is because you’ll gradually learn to tell the differences in pitch between the different notes as you hear those notes while playing the piano.
Eventually, you’ll learn how to match your voice to the sounds of notes produced by the piano, and you’ll be able to sing better.
If your piano’s pitch is too high or too low compared to your vocal range, you can choose to sing an octave higher or lower and match it.
Consider getting a digital piano to practice singing correctly
This may sound off topic but if you haven’t gotten yourself a piano, consider getting a digital piano as opposed to an acoustic one if you have troubles singing. This is because a digital piano doesn’t go out of tune over time as an acoustic piano does.
If you have trouble telling notes apart, this is extremely important because as an acoustic piano gradually goes out of tune, you won’t be able to tell since your hearing will gradually get used to it. As an added bonus, a digital piano will also save you at least $100 every year in tuning service costs!
Furthermore, playing an out-of-tune acoustic piano over time can also damage your skill as a pianist. For more information, check out this article.
When looking for a digital piano, the more important factors to consider are the sound quality and features of the piano. The sound not only has to give off the right pitches, but it also needs to be rich.
The most important feature to look for is weighted keys, as this mimics the key resistance present on an acoustic piano, which helps you develop finger strength and have better touch control.
